Take a look at what we've done

MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION-- -- As I was thinking about what to write for my first blog of the New Year, I read some articles written by former 934th leaders to see what they were thinking about during their tenure. Some of these writings were more than 20 years old, but they still sounded relevant. There were some common and familiar themes they all shared: The coming year is going to be full of challenges; big changes are coming; this is the year of inspections; and the classic that never seems to go away, we're going to have to do more with less.

Year after year, all these challenges, obstacles and changes were waiting to test us. But as I look at the wing today, we are as strong as ever. It's a testament to the Airmen of the 934th that we have endured and continue to do the mission every day.

So will there be changes coming in 2013? Of course there will be. There were plenty of changes in 2012 we went through and lots of accomplishments we can be proud of. We changed commanders in the Operations and Mission Support Groups. We safely deployed 114 of our Airmen on 14 different dates around the world and safely returned them home. We started using DTS! We changed our ORI partners and are now on a full throttle vector for the ORI in June. Back in February we were thrown a curve ball with the Force Structure Announcement and the proposal to move all of our planes.

Everyone wants to know what is happening with the FSA, now termed the Force Structure Transformation. As I write this, there really are no definitive answers I can give you about what will happen. One of my goals for 2013 is better communications wing-wide and increased transparency. In keeping with that, I promise that I will get any news I receive about the FST out to you as soon as I receive it. I know that there is a degree of fear that comes with the unknown. I encourage you to discuss the situation as it develops with family and friends and have a plan going forward. By going forward with small action steps, you will keep momentum toward adapting to whatever change may be coming.

I look forward to serving as your commander during the coming New Year. It's amazing the things I have learned from you so far, and what I continue to learn every day. Yes, again we've got big challenges, inspections and changes coming at us. And maybe someone will read this in 20 years, think back and remember 2013 as just another great year for the 934th.